Distribution of Traits
Aligned to HS-LS3-3 — Next Generation Science Standards.
What this lesson teaches
Many traits are controlled by several genes plus the environment, so they vary continuously. Plotted across a population, these traits often form a bell-shaped distribution clustered around an average.
Worked example
Human height, shaped by many genes, spreads into a bell curve: most people cluster near the average, with far fewer very short or very tall individuals out at the tails.
Practice questions
- From a histogram, identify the most common value of a trait.
- Predict the distribution shape for a trait controlled by many genes.
- Use probability to explain why two average-height parents can have a very tall child.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Distribución de los rasgos
Muchos rasgos están controlados por varios genes más el ambiente, por lo que varían de forma continua. Al graficarlos en una población, estos rasgos suelen formar una distribución en forma de campana agrupada alrededor de un promedio.
Ejemplo: La estatura humana, determinada por muchos genes, se distribuye en una curva de campana: la mayoría de las personas se agrupa cerca del promedio, con muchas menos personas muy bajas o muy altas en los extremos.
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